Learn How to Easily Fix 5 Common Blogging Mistakes

The purpose of creating a business blog is to reach a new audience with highly informative, expertly written content. Organizations that jump headfirst into the world of blogging should watch out for common blogging mistakes. Otherwise risk driving potential new customers away or worse risk lower search rankings.

Remember, blogging with purpose and frequency should be part of your ongoing content marketing strategy. So, be mindful of your audience and avoid making costly mistakes.

1. Poor Grammar

Prospects can interpret typos and grammar mistakes in your blog content as a sign of unprofessionalism. As blogging mistakes go, typos and grammar mistakes are a BIG “No-No”. So, carefully construct your blog posts. No one will stick around content that’s littered with misspellings.

Thoroughly proof-read your content before it’s posted live. Customers are very reluctant to trust companies that don’t pay attention to the quality of the content they post.

We use ProWritingAid to help us as we’re composing new blog posts. It’s an absolute lifesaver! It runs as a free browser extension and informs you of typos & grammar suggestions as you type inside your post editor…just brilliant!

2. Not Capture Leads

Don’t miss out on opportunities to convert prospects into new leads by including calls to action and other conversion points. Not offering a way for prospects to gain additional insight can cause lost leads.

Conversion points, such as the opportunity to download an eBook, encourage prospects to take advantage of the chance to delve deeper into a subject. The more you can spark the interest of prospects, the greater the chances of converting them into new leads.

3. Not Using Rich Media

Blogs that include visual content have a better chance of maintaining a visitor’s attention for a longer time. Image content helps to break up long segments of text and create visual appeal. Don’t go over overboard, though! Content that has too much going on visually is just as bad as boring walls of text.

4. Not Enough Substance

I definitely get it. You’re pressed for time trying to turn out another blog post. Then carving out time to write a thousand words or more about a relevant topic today will require lots of effort. So, you squeeze out a 400-500 word post.

That’s probably one of the biggest blogging mistakes I see. Unengaging, poorly researched, short-form content with no real purpose. Why would anyone thing their little 400-word post could ever outrank the 3,833 word beast of an article ranking #1 in Google?

I’ll let you in on a little secret… long-form content works. Neil Patel says it generates more than 9x more leads than short blog posts.

So how long short your posts be? Well, it depends on your situation and your audience. When we’re building out our topic clusters, we find our average subtopic blog posts are just around 1,200 words or a 5 minute read and we really don’t consider that “long-form.”. Our core topic posts can range between 2,500 – 4,000 words which we feel is the sweet spot for our pillar strategy.

5. Not Writing for your Target Audience

Make sure your blog avoids gimmicks designed solely for the purpose of increasing website traffic hits. ‘Clickbait’ is a prime example of these types of gimmicks.

Remember that your target audience visits your blog for the purpose of learning more about what your business can offer them, not to catch up on the latest Hollywood gossip or to read about the amazing benefits of apple cider vinegar. Keep your blog focused on providing prospects with the information they want about the products and services they need.

Your turn

Avoid beginner blogging mistakes and build a blog that attracts new visitors with a reduced bounce rate. With a little effort and an eye for details, your blog can offer visitors great content that gets read and shared. These five tips for a great blog will help you create professional, compelling content that customers will find interesting and informative.

Eric Steiner graduated with an MFA in professional and creative writing from Western Connecticut State University in 2014. He's worked on a number of professional writing projects with clients such as Pearson Education, WatchMojo.com, and Michael Mailer Films. Giving brands a voice is his passion.

Eric Steiner

Eric Steiner graduated with an MFA in professional and creative writing from Western Connecticut State University in 2014. He's worked on a number of professional writing projects with clients such as Pearson Education, WatchMojo.com, and Michael Mailer Films. Giving brands a voice is his passion.